Inspiration to be yourself

Two of Anna Quindlen's books inspire me - "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" and "How Reading Changed my Life".

The link that this post takes you to is a commencement speech by her. It relates to my quest for authenticity.

"Cinch by the inch, hard by the yard"

One of the attendees in my "Brain Jogging" presentation last December used the above slogan when I said that memorization is easier if the task is broken or distributed into smaller parts.

For example, rather than memorize the names of all the Presidents today, all I need to do is memorize one today and do it thoroughly. So, I repeat to myself a few times, during a time span of about 20 seconds in order to help my working memory, that John Adams was the second President of the United States of America. During twenty seconds, I can say "John Adams was the second President of America" at least six times. It turns out that this allows for effective reinforcement so that I can remember this fact later in the day.

Through this concentration on one fact, I can overlearn this one fact today. And tomorrow, I can overlearn the next fact that is important to me. As I develop a practice of overlearning one fact each day, I develop a practice that is useful for remembering an appointment or a task until I get an opportunity to put it on my calendar or to-do list.

Heightened Consciousness

How do you get to a state of heightened consciousness or awareness?

It is easier to remember things that you experienced with heightened consciousness - it is not just about emotion.

How do you push your mind into heightened consciousness? If it could be taught, could we improve the sharpness of anyone's mind?

See my previous post on May 5, 2006 entitled "Consciousness"